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"contents": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Decorated South African football coach Pitso Mosimane has finally found a new club after his departure from Egypt-based African giants Al Ahly.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mosimane was confirmed by Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ahli Jeddah as their new head coach on Sunday, 25 September.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Welcome, coach. Pitso Mosimane is the new manager of our first football team,” the club said in a </span><a href=\"https://twitter.com/ALAHLI_FCEN/status/1573885063208501251\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">social media statement</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Coach Pitso and his technical team of Kabelo Rangoaga (fitness trainer), Musi Matlaba and Kyle Solomon (performance analysts) are ready for the challenge,” Mosimane’s agency MT Sports confirmed in its </span><a href=\"https://twitter.com/MTSports10/status/1574038029865566211\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">statement</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. “The decorated South African technical team will be heading to Saudi Arabia from September 2022 to join Al-Ahli in Jeddah.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The appointment ends Mosimane’s three-month sabbatical from coaching. The Kagiso-born supercoach took a break to mull over his options after ending a relatively successful tenure in Egypt.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During his 21-month stay with one of the powerhouses of world football, Mosimane reached three CAF Champions League finals in a row, winning two. He also added the CAF Super Cup, the Egypt Cup, as well as a bronze medal in the Fifa Club World Cup to this haul.</span>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/filer-pitso-mosimane-leaves-al-ahly/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1407139\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/inset-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"424\" /></a> Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane with match officials during the CAF Champions League 2021/22 final between Al Ahly and Wydad Athletic Club held at the Mohamed V Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco, on 30 May 2022. (Photo: Weam Mostafa / BackpagePix)</p>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<strong>Visit <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=in_article_link&utm_campaign=homepage\"><em>Daily Maverick's</em> home page</a> for more news, analysis and investigations</strong>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<h4><b>Task of revival</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 58-year-old coach has now been tasked with bringing similar success to Jeddah giants Al-Ahli. One of the founding members of the Saudi Pro League, the team had never been relegated – until the 2021/22 season. Al-Ahli were shockingly demoted from the league after finishing second from the bottom, with just 32 points from 30 games.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was a bitter pill to swallow for the three-time Saudi champions. Between 2013 and 2020, the Jeddah juggernauts consistently managed top four finishes. They won their most recent league title in 2016, before finishing as the runner-up in the two subsequent seasons.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Royal, as the club is affectionately called by their faithful, have started off their tenure in this unfamiliar territory indifferently. To date, the 2012 Asian Champions League runners-up have played five matches in Division One. Of those, they have won two, drawn two and lost one. The team’s haul of eight points sees them sitting seventh – four points behind early pacesetters Al-Akhdoud.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The team’s hierarchy will be hopeful that Mosimane will hastily turn around their fortunes as they desperately fight to regain their place in the upper echelon of Saudi Arabian, and indeed, Asian football.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“With coach Pitso Mosimane’s experience and his track record of being the football coach turnaround strategist, the CAF Pro Licence coaching graduate (who is one of the most successful coaches in Africa), is more than suitable for this role,” said MT Sports.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The opportunity to lead such a prestigious club in Saudi Arabia presents itself as the perfect project to yield a win-win situation for both parties.”</span>\r\n<h4><b>Biding his time</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before this move, Mosimane had been linked to another Saudi club, Al Nassr, as well as to some DStv Premiership sides. None of those moves ever materialised, however.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mosimane further bolstered his already exceptional CV when he completed his CAF Pro Licence studies in June 2022, having started the course in 2018. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“This is to confirm that his contribution, his coaching ability is recognised, not only on the continent but throughout the world,” South African Football Association president </span><a href=\"https://www.safa.net/2022/08/18/safa-president-applauds-coach-pitso-mosimane/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Danny Jordaan said</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Mosimane’s achievement in August.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Saudi move is Mosimane’s second international deployment at club level, following his stay in Egypt. It’s his first outside the African continent. Previously Mosimane had been in charge of clubs such as Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He was head coach of Bafana Bafana, South Africa’s senior men’s football side, between 2010 and 2012. </span><b>DM</b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span>",
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"description": "<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Decorated South African football coach Pitso Mosimane has finally found a new club after his departure from Egypt-based African giants Al Ahly.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mosimane was confirmed by Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ahli Jeddah as their new head coach on Sunday, 25 September.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Welcome, coach. Pitso Mosimane is the new manager of our first football team,” the club said in a </span><a href=\"https://twitter.com/ALAHLI_FCEN/status/1573885063208501251\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">social media statement</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Coach Pitso and his technical team of Kabelo Rangoaga (fitness trainer), Musi Matlaba and Kyle Solomon (performance analysts) are ready for the challenge,” Mosimane’s agency MT Sports confirmed in its </span><a href=\"https://twitter.com/MTSports10/status/1574038029865566211\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">statement</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. “The decorated South African technical team will be heading to Saudi Arabia from September 2022 to join Al-Ahli in Jeddah.”</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The appointment ends Mosimane’s three-month sabbatical from coaching. The Kagiso-born supercoach took a break to mull over his options after ending a relatively successful tenure in Egypt.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During his 21-month stay with one of the powerhouses of world football, Mosimane reached three CAF Champions League finals in a row, winning two. He also added the CAF Super Cup, the Egypt Cup, as well as a bronze medal in the Fifa Club World Cup to this haul.</span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1407139\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"720\"]<a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/filer-pitso-mosimane-leaves-al-ahly/\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-1407139\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/inset-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"424\" /></a> Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane with match officials during the CAF Champions League 2021/22 final between Al Ahly and Wydad Athletic Club held at the Mohamed V Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco, on 30 May 2022. (Photo: Weam Mostafa / BackpagePix)[/caption]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<strong>Visit <a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=in_article_link&utm_campaign=homepage\"><em>Daily Maverick's</em> home page</a> for more news, analysis and investigations</strong>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<h4><b>Task of revival</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 58-year-old coach has now been tasked with bringing similar success to Jeddah giants Al-Ahli. One of the founding members of the Saudi Pro League, the team had never been relegated – until the 2021/22 season. Al-Ahli were shockingly demoted from the league after finishing second from the bottom, with just 32 points from 30 games.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was a bitter pill to swallow for the three-time Saudi champions. Between 2013 and 2020, the Jeddah juggernauts consistently managed top four finishes. They won their most recent league title in 2016, before finishing as the runner-up in the two subsequent seasons.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Royal, as the club is affectionately called by their faithful, have started off their tenure in this unfamiliar territory indifferently. To date, the 2012 Asian Champions League runners-up have played five matches in Division One. Of those, they have won two, drawn two and lost one. The team’s haul of eight points sees them sitting seventh – four points behind early pacesetters Al-Akhdoud.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The team’s hierarchy will be hopeful that Mosimane will hastily turn around their fortunes as they desperately fight to regain their place in the upper echelon of Saudi Arabian, and indeed, Asian football.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“With coach Pitso Mosimane’s experience and his track record of being the football coach turnaround strategist, the CAF Pro Licence coaching graduate (who is one of the most successful coaches in Africa), is more than suitable for this role,” said MT Sports.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The opportunity to lead such a prestigious club in Saudi Arabia presents itself as the perfect project to yield a win-win situation for both parties.”</span>\r\n<h4><b>Biding his time</b></h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before this move, Mosimane had been linked to another Saudi club, Al Nassr, as well as to some DStv Premiership sides. 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"summary": "Pitso Mosimane has been tasked with restoring Saudi side Al-Ahli to the upper echelon of the country’s football after they were surprisingly relegated to the second tier last season.\r\n",
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Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane with match officials during the CAF Champions League 2021/22 final between Al Ahly and Wydad Athletic Club held at the Mohamed V Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco, on 30 May 2022. (Photo: Weam Mostafa / BackpagePix)